A Moment Like This
by lordofalltiss
Summary: AU where everything is black and white until you see your soulmate
1. Chapter 1

Everyone had a soul mate, Spencer knew that, but he couldn't quite wrap his head around the fact that that meant that he also had one. He was fiercely independent and couldn't imagine that there was a person that perfectly completed him.

Whenever his friends talked about soul mates, which admittedly they didn't do much at the office ever since Haley had been killed, he had just brushed them off, stating that he didn't need anyone and didn't believe that there could be someone out there specially created for him. Sure, he could rattle off all the statistics about how many people actually found their soul mate, or how many people gave up looking and settled for someone else, but he always said he didn't care to meet his, if he even had one. Of course, he was undoubtedly curious about what colours looked like, but that didn't mean he wanted to be tied down to a person forever.

Spencer also knew that not every soul mate pair fell in love; some were related, some were merely friends, but the majority of people who found their soul mate did enter a romantic relationship, and he didn't know how to feel about that. He also wasn't sure whether he actually wanted to meet his other half. What if they found him odd? What if they hated him? All these fears and doubts surrounded him whenever he thought of the bond, so he tended to ignore those thoughts more often than not.

He was now thirty-three and still hadn't found his soul mate. He wasn't worried about it; truthfully, a part of him was relieved. If he did meet his soul mate and they managed to become friends, or dare he say, more than that, he didn't want to risk the chance of losing them. He knew how badly Haley's death affected Hotch, and while Hotch was subtle about it, he still definitely hadn't healed, and Spencer didn't want to end up like him.

He had thought for sure that Maeve was his soul mate, and he'd felt the anticipation fill him when he'd been tied to the chair, mere feet away from her. But when Diane had finally taken off the blindfold and he laid eyes on Maeve for the first time, nothing had changed. His world was still muted with grey, and he couldn't help but feel the bitter disappointment. Maeve was his true equal; if she wasn't his soul mate, then chances were that he'd end up with someone he couldn't stand. A small part of him was glad she wasn't his soul mate though, because if she had been then he didn't think he would have ever recovered. He death had hit him hard, but his pain was nothing to how it could have been.

He didn't know why he was suddenly thinking about all of that. The soul mate bond hadn't ever really bothered him before; it was just something that was. Sure, when he was younger, he'd been beyond fascinated by it, but as time went on and he applied his findings to himself, he only felt lonely. As adamant as he was about his independence, he still thought it would be nice to have someone that completely understood him. Even if they didn't like him, they would have understood him.

Shaking his head to get rid of the thoughts, he turned his mind to other things. The team were out at a bar in New York after wrapping up one of the more trying cases. Garcia, having been sent on the case with them, had only managed to find the UnSub after he'd made a mistake when uploading a video of the torture and murders of six women, each one representing a deadly sin. When they found him, he had the seventh victim held hostage, but thankfully hadn't managed to inflict any pain on her. The rest was pretty much a blur for Spencer; he remembered the UnSub screaming while holding the sobbing victim against his chest before deciding it was futile to resist and committed suicide by cop. They managed to save the last victim, but Spencer didn't really think saving one out of seven was something to celebrate. He apparently wasn't the only one, but the jet was facing some difficulties and wouldn't be ready until the next day, and no one on the team could honestly say they wanted to be alone. Therefore, they went to the bar.

Spencer was sat at a table in the back, squashed in between Rossi and Emily. Hotch was on the other side of Rossi, with Morgan next to him, and JJ next to Emily and Garcia. Usually the team would have split up and went off to socialise with other people, but on that night, they felt like they had to be near each other. Even Morgan had sat down without a word, instead of parading around trying to get ladies' phone numbers. The team had lapsed into a slightly awkward silence, no one quite knowing what to say when Hotch spoke up.

"We did everything we could, and we managed to save a life in the process. Don't forget that. I know it's hard, and I know every one of us is wishing we could have saved the other girls, but we couldn't. We can't save everyone, that's a fact."

There was a round of half-hearted agreements, but everyone knew Hotch was telling the truth. They really couldn't save every single victim and UnSub out there, as much as they wanted to. His words did the trick however, and the group began idly conversing with each other. Rossi and Hotch started talking about Rossi's next book tour; JJ and Emily were talking about Henry, with Spencer interjecting comments from time to time; and Morgan and Garcia were talking about when they should next get together for dinner, when the sound of a glass shattering and a loud curse in French caught their attention. The others stopped and turned to the source of the noise, only to see a man standing there staring at their table. JJ was the first to recover and politely asked the man why he was staring, but all he could do was gape, which is when they noticed he was looking at Spencer, who had drifted inside his head again, so he didn't notice the commotion going on around him. Emily quickly nudged him and he turned to her questioningly.

"Hey, man, what's your problem? Why are you staring at Reid?" Morgan asked heatedly.

He didn't get an answer, because at that moment a larger man came over, and dragged him back to the bar. The man continued to peep back at Spencer every now and then, but Spencer still hadn't realised. The team turned to him, worried looks on their faces.

"Reid, do you know who that was?" Emily asked.

"What are you talking about?"

The others became more confused.

"You didn't notice the man who dropped his glass when he saw you?"

"Uh... no. Sorry, I'm tired, I wasn't paying attention. Who was it?"

JJ nodded towards a group of people, who all kept stealing glances at Spencer.

"He's the one with long hair and leather jacket."

As soon as she said it, the team heard Spencer gasp and dig his nails into the surface of the table.

"Reid, honey, what is it?" Garcia asked worriedly, but Reid ignored her.

He couldn't take his eyes off the stranger. It was as if his body was frozen and even if he tried to move, he wouldn't be able to. Inside he felt like he was on fire; like every cell in his body had been dead until the moment he looked at the man, and it was overwhelming. Suddenly, the whole world seemed brighter; his hearing became sharper, his nose could pick up far more scents that he had been able to only seconds before, and, of course, he could see colours. He had no idea they would look like that. Most importantly, he could feel something he didn't even know existed settle inside of him. It was like he'd been straining his body during a workout and was finally allowed to rest, but it was so much more than that - like the workout had lasted his whole life and it was over after years, leaving him with a deep sense of peace and contentedness. He didn't even think about the fears that had plagued him since he first found out about the soul bond. He didn't care about his independence, or his doubts; all he knew was that he needed to know this man. He couldn't let this feeling go. It felt like he'd shot himself full of Dilaudid, only much, much better. Hopefully this man was a drug he could be safely addicted to.

Still ignoring his friends, Spencer got up and made his way over to the man. He stopped directly in front of him and narrowed his eyes slightly, but stopped when he saw the massive grin. The man jumped up and pulled Spencer in for a hug, laughing at his startled expression. Spencer, surprising, found that the hug was the best experience of his entire life so far.

The team just stared in shock at the pair. Of course, Rossi, Hotch, and JJ understood what Spencer was going through, but none of them had actually witnessed the moment when a person found their soul mate. And they were all surprised at Spencer's casual acceptance of the touch, soul mate or not.

Spencer could feel the emotions radiating off the man - the stranger who was holding onto him as if his life depended on it. He could feel the shock and the disbelief, but by far the strongest emotion was pure, unadulterated joy. Spencer's own emotions mirrored the man's, but he also felt such a strong sense of relief; they hadn't even spoken yet, and his soul mate seemed to already accept him. It was so much better than he could have ever hoped.

Stepping back reluctantly, Spencer held out his hand. He didn't like shaking hands, but it felt like the right thing to do. Plus, he'd already hugged the man, so what harm was touching his hand?

"Hi, I'm Doctor Spencer Reid."

The stranger smirked, which seemed to light up his stunning eyes, "Doctor, huh? It's nice to meet ya, Doctor Spencer Reid. My name's Remy. Remy Lebeau."


	2. Chapter 2

Remy's day had begun normally: he was up just after eight, had a shower, dressed, then went outside to smoke. He took his time with the ritual, just to annoy Scott, who always set morning training sessions at 9 o'clock sharp. As per usual, Scott stormed out just as Remy was about to head inside, pausing just long enough to snag Remy's shirt sleeve and drag him down to the Danger Room. Remy laughed and joked, filling his words with innuendo that Scott paid no attention to. It was just a normal Tuesday.

After his training session, Remy grabbed a large lunch, then went to find Logan. A group of them had plans to go to a bar later on to celebrate Logan's birthday. Of course, no one actually knew when that was, so they'd made up a date. Logan had grumbled a bit when he found out, but Remy could feel the joy radiating off him. Hopefully, no missions would come up, so they could go through with their plans.

The rest of the day was spent with the rest of the school's occupants, everyone coming together to have a mini child-present party at the house. Logan received quite a few gifts, and Remy could tell he was happy. Remy's own gift had been a shirt with the words 'bite me' written across, and Logan had grinned and pushed him playfully.

After the party, Remy sneaked off to have a little down-time alone. Making his way outside, he sat on a small ledge and brought out a cigarette. Lighting it, Remy allowed his thoughts go to the whole soul mate situation. Of all the people he knew, only Jean and Scott were bonded. He'd heard rumours that Charles was bonded to Magneto, but no one knew for sure, and Remy wasn't about to ask. Logan had also told him about the flashes he would get sometimes, the coloured flashes. He didn't speak of them often, but all signs pointed to Logan having found his soul mate before Stryker got to him, and apparently he lost them. Remy had secretly wondered if Logan losing his memories meant that maybe he would have another soul mate, seeing as he was essentially a 'new' person, but he never voiced those thoughts.

Personally, Remy loved the idea of having a soul mate; someone who was his perfect match. He'd thought about who they could be plenty of times, but he could never seem to picture what they'd look like, or what they'd like doing. None of that mattered though. Remy didn't care what gender, race, or age his soul mate was. Of course, if they were a lot younger or older than him, their relationship would most likely be platonic, and that was fine with him. He would take whatever he could get.

Sometimes, in the dead of night, he would let the thoughts drift more than usual. There was obviously the worry that the person wouldn't like him, and ever since the trial, there had been the fear that they would leave him if they ever found out what he'd done. But he usually pushed those thoughts aside; if the person was his equal, then they would most likely accept him for his past. At least, that's what he hoped.

Right now, though, he was standing outside in the late afternoon, and he didn't want the chance of anyone walking over to him while he was thinking such thoughts. So, with a sigh, he vanished the cigarette with a '_pop_', and went back inside the house.

Logan, it seemed, had just come back down after putting away his gifts. Seeing Remy, he smirked.

"Ready for tonight, Cajun? You gonna get drunk enough that I'll have to haul your ass out of the bar?"

Remy mock gasped, "Remy, drunk? Who d'you t'ink Remy is? It's y'r birthday, mon ami, we should focus on getting you drunk."

With a wicked grin, Remy led Logan over to the garage where the others were waiting. Only Ororo, Scott, Jean, Bobby, Rogue, and surprisingly, Warren, were joining them. Hank had stayed just in case anyone needed medical attention, and Charles had stayed to watch over the house and the children.

"Ready to go?" Scott asked, going over to his car, and holding open the passenger side door for Jean.

Everyone mumbled their agreements and began getting into their cars. Ororo chose to ride with Logan and Remy, while the remaining trio walked over to went to Scott's car. Ororo wouldn't be drinking, and neither would Scott, but the rest would, so only two designated drivers were needed.

"So how has your birthday been, Logan?" Ororo asked warmly.

"Pretty good, thanks." Logan replied. "Although, you guys didn't have to celebrate. It's probably not even my birthday, y'know."

"Hush now, Wolvie. It doesn't matter when y'r actual birthday was, point is dis is y'r birthday now. And we were happy t' celebrate. Y'r our ami." Remy cut in.

"He is right, Logan. You are a part of the team; a part of the family. We celebrate everyone else's birthdays, so why not yours?"

Logan didn't have a reply, so the rest of the journey was silent except for Remy's random comments every now and then. Finally, they arrived at the bar, and made their way over to a table. They waited for the others to arrive before motioning for a waiter to come over. Their drinks arrived promptly, and they all found themselves drawn into conversation. Remy was on his third drink, when he saw that the pool table was free, and went over to play a game.

He'd just made his way over when he took a sip of his beer and looked over the rest of the area for a potential opponent. His eyes were sweeping past a table at the back of the room when suddenly it felt like his whole world had exploded. He only noticed that he'd dropped his glass when he felt the liquid staining his shirt. He let out a string of curses, but couldn't tear his eyes away from the table, or more accurately, the beautiful young man; coincidentally, the only one not paying attention to him.

Remy thought he heard one of the man's friend's say something, but he couldn't focus on it. All he could focus on was the man, who was probably the most beautiful person Remy had ever seen. The fact that he could see colour startled Remy, but that was nothing compared to realising that this man, this stranger, was his soul mate. His other half. In that moment he felt so absolutely _alive_. Was this what it felt like to fall in love?

He wanted to go over there, but he felt someone grab his arms and pull him back over to the table. Vaguely, he heard Scott say he'd pay for the glass, but he still couldn't manage to look away from his soul mate.

Finally, after Logan's incessant hand waving in front of his face, Remy turned to his friends.

"Remy, are you okay?" Ororo questioned.

"Yeah, Gumbo, why you starin' at that table?"

Remy grinned, bright and happy, "Remy just found his soul mate, mon amis."

A round of '_congratulations!_' washed over him, as he continued to alternate between looking at his soul mate and his friends. He hadn't even met the man yet, and already he was looking forward to what life had in store for them. This was the first time since the trial, and possibly since he was even _born_, that he felt warm. There was no fear or sadness in him as he stole glances at the man; there was only a bone-deep joy.

His heart-rate picked up when he realised the man was actually walking towards him. This was it. This was the moment he'd been longing for ever since Jean-Luc had sat him down and properly explained the bond to him.

The man stopped in front of him, eyes narrowed as if he couldn't tell whether Remy was friend or foe, but his expression softened when Remy grinned and jumped up, throwing his arms around the stranger. He laughed happily at his startled expression, which only made him tighten his arms. He could feel the swirl of emotions wrapped around the man, all of which seemed to be amplified by the bond. Above all else, he could feel the man's relief, which made him hold on just that bit longer.

After what felt like an eternity, the stranger stepped away and held out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Spencer Reid."

Even his voice was beautiful, Remy thought. He smirked at how formal the man sounded. He grabbed Spencer's hand, and squeezed slightly.

"Doctor, huh? It's nice to meet ya, Doctor Spencer Reid. My name's Remy. Remy Lebeau."


	3. Chapter 3

By unspoken agreement, the pair headed out the bar and started walking towards a nearby park. The short journey was made in silence, both marvelling in this wonderful new world they saw around them. It was overwhelming just how many colours made up their surroundings, and how they hadn't even realised it until they could finally see them.

Remy led them over to the first bench he saw and sat down heavily. The world truly was beautiful, but it was nothing compared to the man at his side.

"How're y' holding up, cher?"

Spencer startled, and absently sat down next to Remy. Now that most of the shock had worn off, a few of his fears were creeping back to the forefront of his mind. He had to clear his throat a few times before any words formed.

"I'm, ah, I'm okay. It's really quite disconcerting. I never realised how much I was missing, you know? I didn't know even the simple things like grass could be so wonderful. I feel like I've lived my whole life inside a bubble and now it's broken and I feel so... so _lost_. I've heard people talk about colours before; about how beautiful they are, but to me it was just something that I would never experience."

Remy hummed in agreement. "Remy knows what y' mean. It's like a dream, non? Like it's not real an' Remy'll wake up at any second."

"Exactly. I didn't ever think I would find my soul mate. I'm not... I'm not really what anyone would want. I talk too much, and I'm too awkward, and I don't understand when people are joking, and I'm too boring, and I work too much, and I'm not attractive enough - not that I'm saying we'd get into a relationship!"

Remy just sat watching him with a furrowed brow. He knew he should have stopped Spencer, but maybe airing their insecurities early would help them in the long run.

"Spencer, Remy don't care for none of dat. I don't care. I don't care if y' work long hours, or ramble 'til y're blue in de face, or don't understand jokes. None of dat matters. But y're not boring, not from what I can tell. And y're definitely not unattractive. And we don't have t' be in a relationship if y' don't want t', _mais_ we can be _amis_, and if we find we have feelings for each other, den we can talk about dat later. Right now we can just get t' know one another."

"I think I'd like that." Spencer smiled, a faint blush on his cheeks. "Okay, so what are you interested in?"

* * *

The next morning Spencer woke with a smile on his face. After talking for hours, he and Remy had decided to call it a night, with Remy escorting him to his hotel room and promising to meet him before the team left that afternoon.

He and Remy had talked a lot; they spoke about both of their work, their interests and hobbies, their friends. Just light things one talks about with a new friend. By mutual agreement they decided not to talk about anything heavy until they knew each other better and for a longer period of time.

Spencer was surprised at just how comfortable he felt around Remy already, and secretly wondered if maybe the soul bond wasn't as bad as he'd always feared. At least his soul mate didn't seem to hate him or think him weird. If anything, Remy had encouraged his rambles; just like he said, he didn't seem to care if Spencer rambled until he was 'blue in the face'. And, better yet, he seemed genuinely interested in the knowledge Spencer had and was happy to hear it. In turn, Spencer was eager to hear more about Remy's life. Remy's skill at story-telling managed to have Spencer enthralled and he just wanted to know more.

He finally got up, had a quick shower, and, after getting dressed, went down to the hotel's restaurant. He was still getting used to all the colours, so he didn't realise the woman in front of him was Penelope until she turned around. He had to fight back the smile at her clothing. He'd never understood what some people meant when they commented on her outfits, but now he did. It was just so... bright. And shocking. How did she manage to perfectly pull off an outfit with such colour if she couldn't even see what the colours were?

"Reid!" She squealed when she saw him. "Oh, I am so happy for you! How was your soul mate? Was he nice? Did you two spend the night together? You didn't come back to the bar."

"Penelope!" He laughed. "Well, he's really nice, and intelligent, and he has a wicked sense of humour. No we didn't spend the night together; we went to a little park and talked for a while. It was quite late when we wrapped things up, so I just came back here. Well, he walked me here."

"Oh my god! That's so cute. Right, come sit down and tell me everything!"

Without having much choice, and because he actually wanted to talk about Remy, he sat opposite her and told her what he was comfortable with. A part of him wanted to keep everything to himself, but a bigger part wanted to share this new, exciting part of his life with one of his dear friends. It didn't hurt that Penelope was probably his most supportive friend; he knew she would keep whatever he said to herself, and would never mock or judge him for anything.

* * *

Similarly, Remy woke up with a smile. It was a Sunday, so he didn't have a training session, and was free to lie in bed for however long he wanted. His mind turned to the night before, and he couldn't help the warm trickle that made its way up his spine when he thought of Spencer.

When he'd set off to the bar, all he was hoping for was to be able to get drunk enough to stop feeling so damn cold, for even a little bit. It seemed like the universe had heard his mental plea, and he left with much more than he'd bargained for. The most pleasing, and surprising, part of all was how well he and Spencer got along. He couldn't believe his luck!

Even though they'd only known each other for a few hours, he really felt like Spencer could be his other half. Spencer was soft-spoken where he was loud, Spencer was a warm light where he was the chill on a winter's night. Spencer was just so _wonderful_.

Remy continued to think about his soul mate as he got out of bed and into the shower. He paused briefly to look at himself in the mirror and was startled by his eyes. He knew they were different, even when he couldn't see colour, but he didn't realise quite how striking they were. At least now he knew why some of the people he knew when he was a child had reacted violently towards him. Oh well, he decided, he liked them. The rest of his body was much the same as he'd always thought, although he did wince when he saw the scars on his back. They seemed a lot harsher in colour. There was nothing he could do about them, and he'd long ago accepted they were a part of him, so he pushed the negative thoughts out of his mind and stepped into the stall.

He yearned to take himself in hand and take pleasure from the image of Spencer's lithe form, but he knew it wouldn't be right. Despite them being soul mates, or perhaps because of, he couldn't bring himself to do that - objectify Spencer in that way. The first time he gained pleasure from Spencer in any way, he wanted the man to actually be present, not just a memory in his mind. With that thought, he turned the temperature all the way down in the shower, and washed himself quickly.

Once dressed, Remy went outside to smoke and clear his head a bit, then headed inside for a late breakfast. He gained a few excited greetings from the younger occupants, a few grins from those who were at the bar, and a full-on wolf whistle from Logan.

"Where's ya boy at, Gumbo? I'm surprised he's not here with ya."

"He's back in his hotel room, mon ami. Ain't gonna take de po' boy t' bed when Remy only known him a few hours." He replied evenly.

"Ain't stopped ya before." Logan said, but kept his tone light. He knew what a big deal the soul bond was to Remy, so of course they would never have spent the first night together. From what he could tell about Remy's soul mate, the man would feel the same.

After seeing the curious glances, Remy sat down and admitted to finding his soul mate, which earned him an endless stream of questions from the other occupants of the mansion. Remy took it all in stride, and answered their questions as best as he could, but he was stumped by the most popular question: was his soul mate a mutant? Remy really had no idea; they hadn't spoken about mutations, and although he was sure Spencer had been curious about his use of sunglasses at night, he didn't comment. He would have to tell him, and soon, in case Spencer reacted badly. It would be better to break off the friendship early, before either got attached.


End file.
